The Office is making an unexpected return in the form of a female-led version. The OG comedy from 2001 skyrocketed Ricky Gervais to stardom and made Steve Carell a household name when a U.S. remake happened in 2005. And now comedian Felicity Ward is taking the reins for a female-led version from Prime Video Australia according to Deadline.
Ward will play Hannah Howard in the remake, a bad manager at a packaging company named Flinley Craddick. In a move that is similar to our last couple of years in the pandemic, the Head Office of Flinley Craddick lets her know that the branch is shutting down so everyone can work from home. To keep her work family together, “she goes into survival mode” and makes “promises she can’t keep.”
For those not familiar with Ward, she’s best known for Spicks and Specks and The Ronnie Johns Half Hour. She is a London-based comedian, actor, and writer. And according to her bio on her website: she wishes she was a better dancer so she could do better TikToks, is open and honest about her mental health struggles, and was born in Australia.
As for why this is a good idea, that doesn’t come from TV going woke, women are messy. And it’s always so refreshing when TV takes the time to show that we can be as terrible as Gervais’ David Brent and Carell’s Michael Scott. Keeping that in mind, they can also be endearing, want to keep their family together, and have foot-in-mouth syndrome. And we deserve to see more honest portrayals of our nuances to destroy toxic stereotypes.
If that isn’t enough to get you excited for the female-led The Office, check out Ward and some of her stand-up comedy routines, where she talks about mental health, dealing with fame, and how she can’t stand inspirational quotes.
